Snack like an Egyptian at N.Y. state fair

Thursday

Aug 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 30, 2007 at 4:28 PM

John Loveland of Allens Hill Farm in Richmond will serve up a taste of the Middle East at the State Fair Monday.

Hilary Smith

For three years, Allens Hill Farm has been known for its downhome, all-American specialty foods: apple cider molasses, apple glazes and syrups, granola, and pancake, muffin, brownie, cookie and bread mixes. These days, however, owner John Loveland's kitchen is filled with the warm, spicy aroma of distant lands.

"There's a bit of a dichotomy there, but what can I say?" said Loveland.

Coriander, cumin, sesame seeds and a variety of nuts lend their distinct flavors to the farm store's most exotic epicurean endeavor to date, an Egyptian recipe called dukkah.

The dish, pronounced DOO-kah, is a mix of crushed, toasted nuts and spices believed to have originated in Egypt. It can be eaten in a number of ways — as a coating for meat, a crunchy topping for salad, fruit or yogurt, or a garnish on muffins and quickbreads. The most traditional method for eating dukkah is to dip pita or crusty bread into olive oil, dunk it in the dukkah and eat the coated bread, often accompanied by a glass of wine.

Allens Hill Farm offers three varieties: Down Under Dukkah, the most basic recipe; Let's Dukkah Breakfast, the only sugar-sweetened variety; and Dukkah Hazard, which gets its kick from garlic, sea salt and habanero powder. So far, the spicy Hazard is the bestseller, Loveland said.

Popular in Australia and New Zealand, dukkah is slowly attracting foodies on the West Coast. Specialty Food magazine ranked it number six on the Top 10 Best New Tastes list in its July issue.

Loveland first heard of dukkah from an Australian friend, who at a recent trade show mentioned that she could never find it in American stores.

"It's selling surprisingly well for a product that no one has heard of or can even pronounce," said Loveland.

After only two weeks of production, dukkah has outsold all Loveland's other products at the five farmers markets where he sells his goods.

He makes several cases of the mix each week, with 12 four-ounce packages in each case, and he sells about a dozen packages at each festival or farmers market.

So far, it's a small-scale production. Loveland does all the work himself, roasting the nuts, seeds and spices in a frying pan then crushing them in a counter-top food processor. He also packages the dukkah and makes his own labels and brochures.

"I'm still trying to figure out my production methods so I can make it in larger quantities. It's time-consuming to toast everything, but when you're small like this, you make do," said Loveland.

Loveland, a former restaurateur and life-long lover of food, is excited to introduce a new food to East Coast tastebuds. To inform samplers about the product, he places pamphlets titled "Do You Dukkah? Dukkah for Dummies" on his vendor table.

"Selling at the festivals is an educational experience," he said. "The flavors are very different than what people are used to. They have no idea what to expect."

Most feedback has been positive, with only a handful of tasters saying dukkah is "not their cup of tea," said Loveland.

One customer at the South Wedge farmers market had also tasted authentic Egyptian dukkah. It's a simpler recipe overseas, she told Loveland; more nuts, fewer spices.

On Labor Day, Loveland will serve dukkah samples at the Pride of New York booth at the State Fair, located near the baked potato booth in the agricultural building. It's his second time at the fair, and though he won't be selling anything — Pride of New York offers free space to New York food producers, though it only allows them to give out samples — he's excited to promote a product that is locally made but has a cosmopolitan flair. And he's excited to share the stage with other local food producers.

"There are so many unique and interesting foods being made by people like us, all over the Finger Lakes," he said.

For more information about Allens Hill Farm, visit www.allenshillfarm.com or call (585) 657-4710.

Where to get dukkah

Allens Hill Farm's three varieties of dukkah, an Egyptian dish of ground nuts and spices, are available at the farm store on 3663 County Road 40 and at the following farmers markets: